Like You Wouldn't Believe
by Dalet Slash
Summary: All Lucius wanted was to get out and be left in peace. All Gilderoy wanted was himself back. What they got was each other. [Lucius x Gilderoy slash]
1. Chapter 1

A/N - This was originally posted during the summer of 2002; therefore, it is not OotP or HBP compatible. I am reposting this story at the request of several people. I hope you enjoy, and that it's as good as you remember it.

* * *

It was early.

He didn't know what time it was, exactly, or what was going on. What did manage to register was the fact that there was now someone sitting on the bed across the room. That bed had been empty, he remembered, but now there was someone there. Watching him. The thought made him uneasy, but he closed his eyes and tried to sleep anyway. It took a few minutes before he realized that it wasn't going to work.

The darkness was almost complete, with the exception of the torchlight in the hall outside the closed door. The stranger across the room was sitting with his back to the wall, his head leaning against it.

Time passed slowly. The thought occurred to him that the stranger had a strong back, because he was able to sit like that for so long without slumping forward.

He watched the stranger until daylight came two hours later. He realized that the stranger hadn't been watching him at all, but rather he had been sleeping in the position he was in – leaning against the wall, his head straight, his legs crossed. The stranger's eyes didn't open as the room slowly became lighter.

The stranger looked quite interesting, he thought to himself. Pale hair, even paler skin, old-fashioned robes…the man across the room didn't look like anyone that he was used to seeing, especially not in this place.

The light finally fell across the stranger's eyes, and they fluttered open. The eyes were silver and frighteningly cold.

"Why did you sleep like that?" he asked before realizing that it might be rude.

The stranger regarded him, and something like realization crept into his eyes. "Gilderoy Lockhart," he said softly.

He thought for a moment before replying. "Yes," he said finally.

"My, I'd wondered what had become of you," the stranger said. His voice was mocking and as cold as his eyes.

"Become of me…oh. Yes," Gilderoy said. "Got in the way of a bad Memory charm is all."

"That's what I heard," the stranger said. He didn't offer anything by way of explanation.

Silence.

"So…what's your name?" Gilderoy asked.

The stranger arched an eyebrow, as if in disbelief. "Lucius Malfoy."

"Oh. What did you do?"

Lucius said nothing.

"You must have done something to end up in here, it's a psych-"

"I'm aware of what it is, Lockhart. And it's none of your business why I'm here."

"I'm sure people will know soon enough anyway. You'll tell me then."

"No, I…never mind. Just never mind. Get up and get dressed, for God's sake. You look like hell."

Gilderoy frowned slightly and got up to look in the mirror. Lucius was right; he didn't look anywhere near as he should. He opened the door and started down the hall. He returned a few minutes later with some towels and various showering necessities.

"You'll need to take a shower. They get cross if you don't, and lord knows we don't want that."

"I happen to know the routine, Lockhart. Get in the shower."

Gilderoy did as Lucius said. He washed his hair, making sure to clean it right down to the roots. It wouldn't do to have greasy hair or – and he grimaced at the thought – _flakes_. He hadn't been plagued by _those_ yet, but you never knew…

"Aren't you done in there yet?"

"You can't rush these things, Lucius!" Gilderoy yelled back, but he hurried up anyway, trying to avoid being yelled at by someone who had done Something Unknown that was bad enough to end up in a mental ward. He was pretty sure that Lucius hadn't gotten in the way of a spell gone wrong, because he looked and seemed relatively normal. Maybe he had tried to attack someone. Or maybe….

"Damn it, Gilderoy!"

"You can't use profan –"

"I'll be using a lot worse than 'damn it' if you don't get the hell out here!"

Gilderoy muttered some choice words before turning off the water. He dried himself as quickly as possible, wrapped two towels around himself (one around his waist and another turban-style around his head) and then walked out of the small bathroom.

"_Thank_ you," Lucius said in a show of mock-gratitude. "I've been in these clothes longer than feels sanitary. I want to take a shower while the hot water holds out." With that he entered the bathroom. It occurred to Gilderoy that _entered _wasn't anywhere near the right word. Lucius had positively _flounced_ in, slamming the door behind him.

Gilderoy stared after him, then shrugged and turned to the mirror. He took his hair down and started fixing it, brushing it through with one the combs he had gotten from Contraband. One could only do so much with just a comb, but Gilderoy liked to think that he had mastered it. It was an art form, when it came down to it. He smiled to himself and put the comb on the sink, then turned back into the main room to get dressed.

He opened the drawer on the small wooden dresser and noticed some other clothes lying folded next to his. _They must belong to Lucius_, he thought as he took his own clothes out and got dressed.

Before long, Lucius had turned the water off in the bathroom. He came out about thirty seconds later, not bothering with a towel to cover himself. He simply walked out naked, drying his hair. Then, with one hand still holding the towel to his head, he moved to the dresser and took out a plain set of black robes. He dropped the towel and yanked them on.

Gilderoy stared. This had to be the least-shy roommate he'd had so far.

Lucius turned and noticed Gilderoy staring. "What's your problem?" he said. He sounded sulky.

"Oh, did the hot water give on you?"

Lucius said nothing, but put his shoes on and walked over to the mirror. He gripped one of the combs from the counter and started to brush his hair with it. He had more than a little difficulty, as his hair was long and rather tangled, presumably from the night before.

"Need help?" Gilderoy asked.

"Not unless you plan on -"

Gilderoy ignored him and took the comb from Lucius' hand. "Now hold still."

"You don't have to. I would prefer it if you -"

"Nonsense. You certainly wouldn't be able to do it yourself, as you obviously don't know what you're doing."

"I don't know what I'm - it's _my_ hair, or am I wrong?"

"It won't matter if you don't take care of it properly."

"…am I arguing with you about my hair?"

"Yes."

Lucius tried to twist around and take the comb from Gilderoy, which resulted in his hair being wrenched painfully to the side. "Goddamn it, Gilderoy!" he shrieked.

The door opened suddenly, knocking into both men and causing Gilderoy to drop Lucius' hair and grab his shoulder. Lucius shoved his hand off roughly and took the comb from him.

"Really, what is going _on_ here?" said the person who had opened the door. She was a tall woman whose white uniform contrasted roughly with her black hair. "I can hear you both clear down the hall."

To Gilderoy's surprise, Lucius smiled and said "I apologize, Marlene. I daresay it won't happen again." Marlene made an official-sounding noise of disbelief and left them alone, but not before taking the combs from the counter and Lucius' hand.

"And where do you know Marlene from?" Gilderoy asked.

"She's the one on my suicide watch."

"Suicide?"

"Oh, you caught that?" Lucius said dryly.

"Well, you threw it out there for me to -"

"…never mind, Gilderoy."

And with that, Lucius turned and left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

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The rest of the morning and afternoon passed relatively smoothly. Lucius had gone with Gilderoy to group therapy but sat in determined silence through the whole thing. Gilderoy wasn't sure exactly what he was determined to do, but it was determined silence nonetheless. He caught up with Lucius on the way back to their room.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, smiling in what he thought was a concerned sort of way.

"Because you were doing enough talking for both of us," Lucius said.

Gilderoy's smile never flickered. "Well, _someone_ had to get things going, didn't they?"

"And keep things going. And finish them off."

"They let you out faster if you talk to them. You have to keep that in mind, you know."

"How many times must I remind you that I've been here before?"

Gilderoy blinked.

"Don't you dare tell me you're that thick. I don't think I could handle that right now." Lucius turned and went into the room, shutting the door behind him.

Gilderoy stood there in the hall for a moment, then started down the hall and into the no-man's-land of the main hall. He sat there and chatted with a few of the other patients ("You really shouldn't bite yourself, Hilda, you'll bruise") until one of the nurses, a blonde witch that was extremely new and extremely nervous, came in to serve dinner.

Gilderoy had just seated himself at the long table set up in the middle of the room before he realized Lucius wasn't there. Marlene had apparently had the same thought, because she stood up and started for the hall. Gilderoy jumped up and volunteered to go get Lucius himself. Marlene gave him a doubtful look but let him go.

He made his way to his room – _their_ room, now – and opened the door slowly. _Lucius will probably be cross at being disturbed,_ he told himself, _but he has to eat something or he'll make himself ill_.

The room was silent as the door swung open on well-oiled hinges. It was dim, as the sun was sinking outside and the room faced east. Lucius was lying on his bed, making odd, slightly strangled-sounding noises in his sleep.

Gilderoy came closer and saw that he was curled up on his side. He made that odd moaning sound again and curled his fists into his long pale hair, tugging at it roughly. Gilderoy wrinkled his nose in distaste. It was sacrilege, really, to do that to such nice hair; Lucius looked about ready to pull it out. He decided he had to do something about it.

"Come on now, stop that," he said as he started to work Lucius' hands out of his hair. Lucius seemed to relax at the sound of his voice – maybe because it was familiar? – and his hands fell slack. Gilderoy moved Lucius' hands down to his side, then sat next to him and started to stroke his hair, smoothing it out. Lucius' breathing quickened for a moment before evening out again. Gilderoy didn't notice, but kept stroking his hair.

After a few minutes he remembered why he had come in here in the first place. He removed his hand from Lucius' hair and moved to shake his shoulder to wake him when one of Lucius' eyes slid open.

"You stopped," was all he said. Gilderoy smiled slightly.

"Dinner is out there, Lucius." Lucius made a small noise of protest and turned on his back, closing his eyes again, so Gilderoy continued, "You have to eat or you'll make yourself sick."

"I'll be fine, Gilderoy."

"Come on, you have to get up sooner or later," Gilderoy replied, reaching over and gripping Lucius' hands. He stood up, pulling Lucius into a sitting position. Lucius glared at him and pulled his hands away. Gilderoy stood there, smiling in a benign sort of way. Lucius just sat there glowering, apparently waiting for something. When it was obvious that Lockhart wasn't going to go away, Lucius stood up and went to the mirror, smoothing his hair with his hand, before walking out the door. Gilderoy followed him, talking animatedly.

"Oh, you'll get used to it here soon enough…again," he added as Lucius gave him a sharp look. "You just have to open up a bit more. You're not going to be let go if you don't say anything, and certainly not if you spend all your time _sleeping_."

"I'll be gone in a week. A fortnight at the most."

"Oh, you've been given your assignment already? Good!"

Lucius rolled his eyes, and Gilderoy wondered briefly if there was something he wasn't getting. They entered the main hall together and sat down; Lucius sat at the head of the table and no one argued with him. The fact was that he seemed like he belonged there. He sat there with his perfect posture, eating slowly, gracefully, the way they probably taught you in etiquette lessons. For a moment Gilderoy found himself wishing that he was the one with the looks of an exotic male model and excellent table manners on top of it.

Then he realized that Lucius was looking at him strangely.

"Are you having a problem, Lockhart?"

"No, why?" Gilderoy replied, trying to dismiss it with a laugh.

"Because you were staring at me." When Gilderoy said nothing, Lucius snapped "I don't want you staring at me again, do you at least understand _that_?"

"Keep it civil, Lucius. Boundaries," Marlene said quickly.

"Of my sanity. Certainly."

"_Lucius_…"

"Understood, Marlene." With that, Lucius pushed his chair back from the table. Distantly polite to the last (it was either that or distantly paranoid), he didn't give anyone his back. He stepped backwards towards the door, nodding slightly, before turning and leaving the room. Marlene hesitated, then jumped up and followed him, beckoning to the blonde nurse to follow her.

The moments that followed seemed to take forever. Since Marlene and the new girl were gone, Gilderoy and the other patients were left with Romàn and Geoffrey, two male attendants - they detested being called nurses - that Gilderoy had never liked much.

After a while, the new nurse came in and brought Gilderoy out into the hall.

"Er, well, Lucius is being a bit - tense - right now. He says he can control himself, but if you would like for him to have a separate room for the night, feel free to ask and we can put him into confinement."

Gilderoy frowned. He had seen the confinement rooms; dreadfully unpleasant places, those were. He didn't like the idea of Lucius in there. He shook his head and said that Lucius would be fine in their room, thank you very much. The nurse nodded and walked with him down the hall into his room. Marlene had already left, and there was only Lucius sitting at the desk that was against the window. A candle was flickering on top of it, and Lucius was focused very intently on writing something. The nurse stood there for a moment as if to make sure the men wouldn't be at each other's throats as soon as she left, and when she seemed satisfied she turned and walked out, leaving them alone.

Gilderoy sat on his bed and watched Lucius' quill work. After a few minutes he said "Well, you can't have been doing too bad, can you? I mean, they gave you something to write with."

"I suppose not," said Lucius. When he said nothing else, Gilderoy decided to try another tack.

"Are you a writer?"

"Only in the loosest form of the word."

"What do you mean?"

"Am I writing?"

There was an uncomfortable-seeming pause.

"What are you writing?"

"Something dark and morbid and oh so full of joy. Why don't you just shut up and let me finish, and then maybe I'll let you see it."

Gilderoy fell silent. After awhile, Marlene came in and looked around the room. She did this twice more before it occurred to Gilderoy to ask -

"Are you still on suicide checks?"

"She's checking, isn't she?"

"…that's very annoying, you know."

"Mmmm…what is?"

"Answering questions with another question. Not a lot gets done that way."

"It makes you think, doesn't it? Or is that too much to ask for? And if you must know the answer to your inane little question, yes, I'm on five-minute checks until we go to sleep."

"…which will be now," said Marlene from the doorway. "Maybe tomorrow you'll do better, Lucius?"

"You know I will," Lucius said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm sure. Either way, bed. Now."

Lucius placed his quill down neatly on the desk and closed the ink bottle. He then proceeded to extinguish the candle. With his bare hand.

"Lucius, honestly!" cried Marlene, rushing over to him. She pulled her wand out and muttered something. Lucius shook his hand out a bit, then said "Thank you, Marlene."

"Don't you dare go doing that again, or you'll be writing in the dark. In confinement."

"Yes, I know," Lucius muttered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to change."

Due to the darkness, Gilderoy couldn't see Marlene's expression; either way, she turned and stalked out of the room. Lucius' face was illuminated in the glow of the torchlight in the hall, so in the seconds before the door closed Gilderoy could see him giving a self-satisfied smirk. Then the door was closed and it was dark again.

Gilderoy stood up and felt his way to the dresser, pulling out a nightshirt. He changed out of his robes and into the nightshirt fairly quickly, then he lay down on his bed. It made him feel slightly better when Lucius did the same; at least his roommate would be sleeping in a horizontal position tonight.

There was a silence that lasted for all of ten seconds.

"Lucius?"

"...enh."

"What _did_ you do to end up in here?"

"Let's see. I'm on suicide watch and I'm not happy about being here. Dear me, what could I have done?"

"Well, yes, but I want to know _how_…"

"I was standing on the roof of the Manor naked. I planned on staying there until I caught a chill and died."

"…oh."

"You wouldn't know sarcasm if it hit you upside the head with a mallet. You _are_ aware of that, right?"

"Well, I don't see why you should have to be so sarcastic anyway. After all, you're a very interesting person as it is, I think. And it's not as though you have to hide behind it. I'll bet you could make millions if you wanted to."

There was a rather undignified snort from the bed across the room, and Gilderoy wondered what he had said that was so amusing. Good lord - with his luck he had just said that to a celebrity of some sort. Either that or…he tried to remember what Lucius had said his last name was. Something with M. Mal. Malevolent? …suiting though it was, he didn't think that was it.

"What is your last name, anyway?"

"Are you sure your memory was the only thing obliterated? Or while we're at it, that it was only wiped out once? It's Malfoy."

"Where have I heard your name before? I know I must have heard about you from somewhere, but I can't exactly remember where. Oh…you're not one of my friends, are you?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Well, I must have heard of you from somewhere else."

"The bookshop, maybe?"

"So you _are_ a writer!"

There was an odd noise then - it sounded as though Lucius had smacked himself in the forehead with his hand. "Never mind."

"Are you published? How long have you been out? I really would like to talk to you about your works...although exactly what they are has escaped me…"

"Lockhart!"

"What?

"Just. Stop. Talking."


	3. Chapter 3

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Gilderoy was bored out of his mind. It had been four days since Lucius had arrived in Gilderoy's room, and he hadn't cut back on the animosity yet. Now it was Thursday, it was pouring outside, and the other patients had their visitors. Gilderoy noticed that only he, Lucius and two other patients had no one. Lucius didn't seem to mind in the least.

Gilderoy and Lucius were in their room alone. Marlene and the new nurse (Gilderoy had since learned that her name was Natalie, but she was still new in his mind) came in to check on them occasionally, but they were pretty much left to their own devices. Lucius was sitting at the desk, writing something and trying to ignore Gilderoy, who was sitting _on_ the desk.

"I really think you should let me have a look at what you're writing," said Gilderoy for the fifth time. "Maybe I could give you some pointers on whatever it is you're working on, after all – "

"Yes, you _would_ know about that," Lucius said coldly, "but I'm not writing anything like what you're used to, and even if I was, I would like to keep it factual, thank you very much."

"Sorry?" Gilderoy said, confused.

There was an odd look that flicked across Lucius' face, one that Gilderoy couldn't read. Then Lucius smirked. "They never told you?" he asked softly. "They never told the great Gilderoy Lockhart why everyone knows who he is?"

Gilderoy laughed. "In time, Lucius, in time! I'm sure I'll know soon enough, and it's not really important in the meantime."

Lucius smiled but said nothing. He immersed himself in his writing again, leaving Gilderoy to wonder just what it was he wasn't getting.

After a few moments of silence, Gilderoy leaned over and tried to look at whatever it was Lucius was writing. He was rewarded by Lucius' arm flying up and striking him in the face.

Gilderoy yelped. "You could have just said _no_," he said, getting up to make sure his nose wasn't bleeding. "You didn't have to get _violent_."

Natalie burst through the door, nearly hitting Gilderoy with it. "Did someone scream in here?"

"Only Lockhart. He tried to lead an attack on my arm with his face. Not a good move on his part."

Natalie gave Lucius a dark look. "You hit him."

"He wasn't respecting boundaries."

"I'm beginning to see that this isn't going to work."

"Just?"

Natalie stepped back into the hall, bracing the door open with her foot, and yelled for Marlene. Lucius didn't look happy with this arrangement; Marlene didn't put up with his talking back.

"Lucius," Marlene said as soon as she came in, "confinement. Now."

Lucius didn't argue. He stood up and crossed the room.

"Marlene, wait," Gilderoy said, grabbing her arm as she turned to leave. "It was my fault."

"Stop," Marlene said to Lucius. She turned back to Gilderoy. "Explain."

"I…well, I wasn't respecting boundaries…" He paused, looking at Lucius, who had arched an eyebrow and was nodding slowly. "And I provoked him until he hit."

Marlene gave him a hard look. "You're going to have to go into confinement for awhile. You know that we don't tolerate fighting."

"Oh, of course. I won't fight with you. Here, let's go." Gilderoy walked out of the room after Marlene, leaving Natalie and Lucius staring.

The confinement rooms were small, windowless places that had a mat in the corner for the ones that were staying overnight and several torches burning out of reach. Marlene told Gilderoy that he would be in there for a few hours, overnight if he carried on about it. He nodded, smiling at her, and she turned and locked him in.

The time passed slowly. Gilderoy sat and made up stories in his head – stories he could use to tell some of the other patients later, they'd never know the difference – but even that got boring after awhile. Before long he found his thoughts turning to his roommate. He wondered where Lucius had come from, what he'd done, and why he – Gilderoy – had gone to confinement for him.

_There was no reason, really_, he thought. He knew Lucius didn't consider him a friend, but he just had a feeling – like he should protect Lucius, somehow. Which was an odd thought in itself, because if anyone looked like he could take care of himself, it was Lucius.

_But Lucius is still on suicide checks, _he thought suddenly. Apparently he couldn't handle everything. But even so, he wasn't exactly fragile.

_Gilderoy, you are getting extremely strange in the head._

Whatever the issue was, Gilderoy decided to ignore it. He curled up on the mat in the corner and went to sleep.

Gilderoy was led back to his room three hours later. He kept thinking that his hair must look like hell, and he didn't exactly enjoy the fact that Geoffrey was leading him through the ward in front of everyone. He kept trying to smooth his hair down as he walked, much to Geoffrey's amusement.

Lucius was sitting on his bed facing the window, watching the rain come down outside. Lightning flashed suddenly, illuminating his features and casting an odd shine off of his hair. Geoffrey left Gilderoy off and walked out. Gilderoy went and sat on his own bed, looking at Lucius.

"Why did you do that?" Lucius asked without taking his eyes off the window.

"It really wasn't your fault, you know. Granted, it wasn't exactly mine either – it _was_ your arm – but I figure I had at least some hand in it."

"So you took the entire blame."

"Yes – "

Lucius finally turned to look at him. He looked as though he was going to say something. Then he apparently thought better of it and said instead, "Stupid thing to do. Don't bother doing it again."

Gilderoy looked at him. "Well, why not?"

"Because I don't like being in debt to someone as – to someone like you."

"Oh, but you're not…do you think you're in my debt now, Lucius?" Gilderoy said, laughing. "You don't have to worry about it. It's not like I'm expecting you to do anything for me."

"That's good, because I wasn't planning on it."

"But you said – "

"It's a moral thing." An oddly self-deprecating smirk appeared on his face.

"I see. So what do you want to do now? …oh, I know!" Gilderoy said triumphantly. "You could show me what you've been working on with your writing and whatnot."

"How about not," Lucius said. He turned and let himself fall back against his bed. His long hair fell across his shoulders as he did so. Gilderoy tried not to stare at him.

"The rain is nice, isn't it?" Gilderoy said.

"Very. I like to listen to it, it's rather calming."

Gilderoy smiled. For once, Lucius wasn't mocking him; maybe he would actually talk now. "So what are you going to do when you get out?" he asked.

"As soon as I get back to the Manor I plan on eating the richest thing that I can think of, then going to sleep on something that doesn't feel like a foam mat on a wooden frame." Lucius turned his head to look at Gilderoy. "Yourself?"

"I actually don't know yet," said Gilderoy. "I'm probably going to have to go to classes or something to relearn all the magic that was wiped out. Yes," he added, seeing Lucius' raised eyebrow, "I know about the magic and everything. As soon as I got here I managed to wreak some minor havoc because I had a wand and didn't know what I was doing with it."

Lucius smiled; for a moment it looked like he would have laughed if he didn't apparently consider laughing beneath him. Gilderoy smiled as well. "You're being extremely nice," he said without thinking.

The smile remained, but it looked extremely forced all of a sudden. "Would you prefer I wasn't, Gilderoy?"

"No, no, of course not. I'm just saying that you're not usually this nice to me. Is there a reason, or are you finally deciding to open up, or what?"

"It's because idiotic though you are, and stupid though it is, self-sacrifice is hard to not admire and even harder to ignore. Don't think we're going to be sitting here having these pajama-party chats every night. It's just not going to happen." Lucius stood up and started for the door. "I'm going to tell Marlene that I've decided to go to sleep. Shall I tell her that you plan on doing the same?"

"Yes, Lucius, of course. Thank you." Lucius left the room, and Gilderoy crossed the room and dressed for bed. Even though the candles in the room hadn't been extinguished yet, he lay down on his bed and fell into a deep, mostly dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

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Gilderoy was awakened the next morning by what sounded like something wet slapping against the wall between his and Lucius' bedroom and the bathroom. It took him a moment to wake up fully and realize that Lucius was in the shower, and the noise was him flicking his hair back as he washed it.

Gilderoy propped himself up on one elbow. He glanced out the window – it was still dark outside – then lay staring at the door to the bathroom. The noise really was annoying, and now that he was awake he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep for awhile.

A few minutes later, the water stopped and Lucius came out of the bathroom. "Oh, are you awake?" he said, drying his hair. "Pity, I wanted a few more minutes to myself."

"I could hear you."

"So I gathered. You might want to take your shower now, since no one else is up except the nurses and there won't be any problems getting hot water."

"All right." Gilderoy got up and moved to the counter. "Where are the supplies?"

"I imagine they're back in Contraband where I left them," Lucius said, rolling his eyes. "I'm neither your keeper nor your servant. Get them yourself."

Gilderoy blinked. Clearly Lucius was in one of his less-than-pleasant moods. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"What do you mean, what happened to me?"

"You were so different yesterday, and now – "

"I suppose a decent night's sleep did me some good, and I snapped out of whatever oddness it was that I was in last night."

"You can't just pretend it never happened, Lucius."

"Well, whoever is doing that?" Lucius said, giving him a strange look. "It _happened_. And now it's over." He finished drying his hair and started looking for something to wear.

Gilderoy gave an exaggerated sigh. When Lucius didn't respond, he got up and walked out of the room and to the counter, to see if he could get the things for his shower out of Contraband.

When he returned to his room, Lucius was sitting on his bed, staring out the still-dark window. Gilderoy had learned this was a normal position for Lucius to be in, but he couldn't keep from commenting on it.

"Waiting for dawn?" he said.

"No," Lucius replied. "The window faces east is all. It's somewhat – hard – to look anywhere else." There was something in his voice that Gilderoy couldn't place; something not so much sinister as oddly sane.

"Are you upset? If you are, did I do something to make you that way? Because if I did, it's not – "

"I'm not upset," Lucius said, leaning back against the wall. "I just think it's time for me to leave."

"But you can't decide that!" Gilderoy argued. "Have you spoken to the doctor yet? I mean, you're still on checks and – "

"I'll be gone tomorrow," Lucius said. "Now get in the shower, Gilderoy."

"Lucius – "

"Get in the shower."

Gilderoy wasn't sure why, but he did as Lucius told him. The shower was extremely brief, compared to the usual. When he came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, Lucius was gone.

He dressed as quickly as possible, then went down into the main hall. Several of the other patients were there, listening to the most politically correct music the nurses could find. Lucius was sitting where the walls joined farthest away from the other patients. He didn't look like he wanted to be joined anytime soon. Naturally, Gilderoy marched right over and sat next to him.

"Damn," Lucius said, "and here I was thinking I'd finally lost you."

Gilderoy ignored that. "Are you really leaving tomorrow?"

"I do believe that's what I said. I'm sure you're pleased."

"Why would I be pleased?" Gilderoy said, a look of mild puzzlement on his face.

"You probably don't like me. I know I hate you. I won't have to spend another night in your room listening to you talk in your sleep. You won't have to deal with me not liking you. Shall I continue?"

Gilderoy thought that over. Then -

"…I talk in my sleep?"

Lucius sighed. "Yes."

"Oh…why do you think I don't like you? I like you just fine."

Lucius gave him an odd look. "And dare I ask why you like me so much?"

"Because you're a beautiful person, for one thing." Lucius froze, and for a second Gilderoy was afraid he was going to yell.

"You think I'm beautiful," was all he said.

"Yes," Gilderoy said, smiling at him, relieved that he wasn't going to make a scene.

"I don't know whether I should be flattered or offended," Lucius said.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing."

There was a pause.

"Well, this is an awkward moment!" Gilderoy announced brightly.

"And I thank you so much for making me aware of it, Lockhart." Lucius stood up. "I'm going to talk to Marlene. I don't want you following me."

"That's fine, Lucius."

Lucius turned and walked away, leaving Gilderoy alone in the corner of the room. Gilderoy stayed there for awhile, thinking about what he had said earlier. He wondered why Lucius hadn't seem pleased at his compliment. Gilderoy knew _he_ would have been pleased if someone had called him beautiful…but then, Lucius wasn't pleased about a lot of things. It probably shouldn't have surprised Gilderoy that the appreciation of beauty was lost on him.

A few minutes later, Gilderoy looked up and noticed that Marlene was leaning against the wall by herself, watching the patients. Figuring that Lucius must have finished saying whatever it was he needed to say, Gilderoy got up and went to Marlene.

"Where did Lucius go?" he asked her.

"He's in your room, where else would he be?" she said. "We barely get him out here to eat as it is. He doesn't want to grace us with his presence for too long, I suppose."

"Is he really leaving tomorrow?"

"I suppose he is, if that's what he's decided." The look on her face told Gilderoy all he needed to know about what she thought of _that_ arrangement. "I had better go check on him," she added, leaning forward and pulling herself away from the wall. She started down the hall, and Gilderoy followed behind her.

Marlene knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. Lucius was sitting at the desk, his quill scratching against the piece of parchment in front of him. Marlene looked at him, nodded to herself, then moved aside to let Gilderoy in. He walked inside and sat on his bed. Marlene backed out, shutting the door as she went.

Lucius continued working intensely for a few more minutes. Then he raised his quill from his parchment with a flourish and turned to look at Gilderoy. For once he didn't look disappointed or angry to see him.

"Here," Lucius said, turning around and holding out a piece of parchment to Gilderoy.

"What is it?" Gilderoy asked. He tried to reach out and grab the parchment and failed. He stood up, walked over to Lucius, took the parchment from him and sat down on his bed again.

"I don't know _what_ it is. But it reminds me of you."

Gilderoy stared at the parchment for a moment. It was all written in a large, sweeping hand with plenty of decorative embellishments. Then he started to read. It was a dark piece, one that ultimately left Gilderoy feeling like perhaps he shouldn't have asked to see anything Lucius had written. His eyes scanned down the scroll, not so much seeing the words as feeling them. The last stanza gripped his attention and kept it there.

When the seas have been forged

Heaven freezes

And hell opens

You know I'll stand there

In the hollow

Waiting

And wondering

Where I'll

Be

When

It -

"Stops," Gilderoy said as he finished reading.

"What are you talking about?" Lucius said, giving Gilderoy a look that said he knew _exactly_ what he was talking about.

"Well, it's not finished. You certainly can't leave it that way," Gilderoy said, getting up to hand the parchment back to Lucius.

"Keep it," Lucius said. "I don't want it. And it's supposed to be like that."

Gilderoy stopped where he was standing. He unrolled the parchment again and scanned over the writing on it. "And somehow…this is me?" he asked.

"Yes. Take that as you will." Lucius stood up, brushing past Gilderoy and coming to stand by the window. The sun was shining outside. The contrast between that and the writing Gilderoy was holding was incredible.

"I think it's very – "

"I'm not asking you to _like_ it, Lockhart."

"Oh," Gilderoy said. Then he realized how rude that sounded. He tried to think of something more to say. He settled on "Thank you."

"For _what_?"

"For giving it to me, of course. I really do like it. It's just…not what I was expecting."

Lucius nodded slightly, then turned and went back to his work. Gilderoy rolled up the parchment and put it inside the dresser, on top of his robes.


	5. Chapter 5

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Afternoon came, and with it the various group therapy sessions. As usual, Lucius sat in stony silence, staring at whoever was talking. It wasn't a blank stare at all, but rather a calculated one. Gilderoy found himself watching him, wondering what was going on in his –

"Lockhart," Lucius said suddenly.

"Yes?"

Lucius gestured toward Marlene, who was waiting expectantly.

"Oh…sorry," Gilderoy said. "My mind was somewhere else. Would you mind repeating the question?" He smiled at her; a rather charming smile, he thought.

Marlene sighed, as though the day had already been too long for her liking. She repeated the question and Gilderoy answered. The question didn't register, really, and he just gave a standard response.

Marlene looked surprised that Gilderoy hadn't expanded on the question as he almost always did – usually with an anecdote about himself – but Lucius didn't look at him. Gilderoy followed Lucius' gaze. He was staring at Hilda. Hilda was chewing on her wrist.

Marlene gave Gilderoy a confused look, then turned her head to see what he was looking at. "Hilda!" she cried, moving over to the small woman and pulling her hand out of her mouth.

"This place is shit!" Hilda yelled suddenly. "Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't – "

She never finished. Marlene had pulled her wand out and said something quickly, under her breath. Hilda's eyes rolled back into her head and she started to fall forward. Gilderoy jumped up and caught her before she hit the ground. She was frighteningly limp; her limbs appeared to have almost no substance at all.

The whole thing took under a minute.

Order was restored slowly. Hilda was taken out by Geoffrey, and everyone settled back down into the circle to continue talking. Lucius' eyes continued to scan the room, every now and then falling on someone and subjecting them to his scrutiny. He hadn't moved during the whole incident.

An hour later, when therapy was over and dinner had been eaten, Lucius started back to the room. He still hadn't said a word. He didn't look shaken, exactly; just more alert, more aware of what was happening than he usually was.

Gilderoy got up and followed him, as he normally did.

"Are you all right, Lucius?" he asked Lucius when they were in the sanctuary of their room.

"Why are you so concerned with how I am? As I keep telling you, I'm fine."

"Oh." There was a brief silence. "Are you looking forward to seeing your family again tomorrow?"

Lucius didn't reply right away, and for a moment Gilderoy thought he might have said something wrong. Then Lucius said, "I'm not sure." He sat on his bed and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. "What about you?" he said. "Are you looking forward to seeing family when you leave?"

"I don't know about my family," Gilderoy said, sitting down as well. "I don't remember them."

"You don't remember them, you don't remember who you are, you don't remember anything except this hospital," Lucius said. A mocking tone had crept back into his voice. "You have my pity."

"Oh, you don't have to give me your pity, Lucius. After all – "

"Would you like me to tell you?" Lucius said.

"Tell me what?"

"Who you are. Why everyone knows you. What happened."

"Well, I don't think we should…ah, but if you want to tell me I'm certainly not going to stop you!"

Lucius smiled, a slow smile that told Gilderoy that he was getting more pleasure out of the whole deal than he should have been.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Lucius said softly, keeping his eyes closed. "Order of Merlin, third class. Honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League. Five-time winner of _Witch Weekly_'s Most Charming Smile award. Author. Celebrity. And, might I add, a total pain in the – "

"Seriously?" Gilderoy said, his eyes wide. "_Five_ times?"

"Leave it to you to latch on to that. And yes, five, as you so often reminded anyone who would listen."

"Is there more?" Gilderoy said, fascinated. Why had no one told him this before?

Lucius' eyes opened. "_Well_, as I said, you were a celebrity. Everyone loved you, particularly those of the female persuasion. Which lead to many rumors, as you never had any 'lady friends', so to speak…" Lucius paused, then said, "Dear lord, this is the quietest you've been all week."

"Keep going, keep going," Gilderoy prodded.

"This past year you were a teacher at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. And what do you suppose happened there?"

"I was hit by a Memory Charm. But why…?"

"You were in the Chamber of Secrets, as you may recall –"

"Chamber of what?"

Chamber of Secrets. Ask someone to look it up for you sometime. Either way, you were there. Rather fitting, as you had just had _your_ largest secret unearthed by a couple of twelve-year-old boys."

"My largest…what?"

"Secret, Lockhart, secret. Surely you know what I – "

"I know what you mean, but not what you're talking about."

"That your celebrity image was achieved using false means, of course." Gilderoy felt his jaw drop, and he knew how stupid he must look, but he didn't care. "You took credit for others' achievements by using, poetically enough, your Memory Charms. You were quite skilled with them in school, as I recall.

"Yes, I went to school with you too," Lucius said, seeing Gilderoy's eyes widen again. "And I hated you then as much as I hate you now. But the fact remains that you're a fraud, Gilderoy. A fraud and a coward who was willing to let a young girl die in the Chamber of Secrets for the sake of saving your own pitiful reputation.

"You are nothing. And you should always remember that. If you don't…trust me, someone else will."

Lucius fell silent as Marlene opened the door. "Is everything all right in here?" she asked. Neither of the men replied, and she looked around suspiciously until Gilderoy said "I think I need to get out of here for awhile. I'm not feeling well." He stood up and walked out.

Marlene caught up to him halfway down the hall. She put her arm around his shoulders and steered him back towards the nurses' station. "Do you think you're getting sick?" she asked him.

"Yes, I think I might be. Perhaps I ought to have a separate room for the night, so Lucius doesn't come down with…whatever it is I have."

Marlene stepped behind the counter and opened the door to the cabinet behind it. "Take this," she said, reaching in and taking a bottle of some unknown potion out. Gilderoy did as she said, but she still looked at him strangely.

"Well," she said, "you look slightly better for it, but you _do_ look extremely pale. Perhaps you had better spend the night in confinement, although not locked in. Will that work?"

"Yes, Marlene, that would be lovely," Gilderoy said, relieved that he wouldn't have to see Lucius again that night.

Marlene stomped on that last thought immediately. "Go get your things," she said.

"Oh, but – "

"Frankly, I don't have any patience for you or Lucius left. Go get your things or stay in your own damn room."

Marlene was usually rough, very rarely truly aggravated. This was one of those very rare times. She turned on her heel and stomped into the confinement room to prepare it. Gilderoy went back into his room, swearing against…whom, exactly, he wasn't sure. Marlene, Lucius…himself… Either way, he was both looking forward and dreading that night. True, he wouldn't have to deal with Lucius, but he would also have to be alone, in the dark, dealing with himself.

Gilderoy pushed the door to his room open. What he saw in there shocked him to the point of screaming.


	6. Chapter 6

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Gilderoy bit his lip hard to keep himself from letting out a shriek. He tasted blood, but he didn't care.

Lucius was sitting cross-legged on his bed, a razor that he had apparently stolen from Contraband pressed against his skin.

"Lucius, what are you _doing_?" he asked, realizing how stupid it sounded after he said it.

"I wonder." Lucius started etching lines on his arm, little slivers filled with blood that ran out and filled the crevices of his skin, making a morbidly beautiful webbed design. _Well, it's beautiful _now_, but wait until it scars over_, Gilderoy thought. He then mentally slapped himself.

He walked up to Lucius and tried to think of some way to take the blade from him without getting cut himself. He didn't have to worry about stopping Lucius for too long, because after a moment of Gilderoy's standing there, Lucius lifted the blade and looked up at him.

"Gilderoy, please," he said, mock-politeness flooding into his voice. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible."

"Why won't you do it while I'm here?" Gilderoy asked.

"Because I don't want to have you on my conscience when I die, thank you for asking, now get out."

Gilderoy backed up slowly until he found his bed and sat on it, keeping his eyes on Lucius the whole time.

Lucius sighed and put the blade down on the bed next to where he was sitting. "All right, Lockhart. You have my attention now. What is it?"

Gilderoy sat there and tried to come up with things to ask to keep Lucius occupied until Marlene came looking for him. "Why don't you want me on your conscience?" he asked finally.

For the first time since he had arrived at the hospital, Lucius looked uncomfortable. He stared at Gilderoy for a moment before tipping his head slightly. Gilderoy decided to press him a little farther. "After all, Lucius, you said you hate me. So why should it matter?" He stood up and started walking towards Lucius' bed. This apparently put the other man on the defensive.

"And why do you care one way or the other?" Lucius shot back.

"Because I - " _Oh, this had better be good, Gilderoy…_

"Yes?" Lucius prompted, raising an eyebrow. "Because you _what_?"

"Because I like you a great deal," Gilderoy finished lamely.

Lucius looked slightly disappointed. "I see," he said.

"Er, well, I mean, you said yourself I never had any lady friends," Gilderoy said quickly. "That was because I was - "

"Quite frankly, it was because I suspect you were the gayest boy that ever nanced his way into Hogwarts, and - dear god, if you're coming on to me I'll have to cause you bodily harm."

Gilderoy didn't give him time to make good on his threat. He seized Lucius' robes with his right hand and jerked him forward into a rather passionate kiss. With his left hand he found the razor Lucius had left on the bed and slipped it into his robes.

Kissing Lucius was easily the strangest thing that he had done (that he could remember, anyway), and for all the passion Lucius was putting into it he might as well have been kissing a cardboard box. He supposed that was a good thing - did he really want Lucius to be kissing back, anyway? And when he thought about it, it was possibly even a compliment. He was sure Lucius had never been kissed quite like _this_, since Gilderoy knew that even though he couldn't remember it, exactly, he was obviously a quite experienced kisser. Lucius was probably waiting for his senses to catch up to him.

When they did, however, it was not exactly the effect Gilderoy had expected. Lucius found Gilderoy's hand with his own, jerked it roughly off of his robes, and then shoved Gilderoy away. He didn't stop there, either. Before Gilderoy was able to fully register just what was happening, Lucius had him pinned to the floor, flat on his back in the middle of the room.

"There's a special place in hell for people like you," Lucius snapped.

"Oh, so you're homophobic," Gilderoy said.

Lucius slapped him. "I certainly am _not_. I'm considering filing for assault, but I'm not homophobic. And if you _ever_ - "

"_Lucius Malfoy, what the hell are you doing?_"

Lucius and Gilderoy looked up to see Marlene standing in the doorway looking positively incensed. Lucius leapt to his feet, then, at complete odds with what he had just been doing, turned and helped Gilderoy up. Neither of them said a word – Gilderoy kept his silence to protect Lucius, and Lucius (Gilderoy was almost positive) to protect his own pride.

Marlene glared at both of them. She marched forward and stopped when she was almost directly in front of Lucius' face. Because she was so tall (or perhaps because Lucius was relatively short) she was able to look almost directly into his eyes.

"You," she said, "are going straight to confinement. And you're going to stay there until I feel better towards you. With no writing supplies. Understood?" Lucius remained silent, but walked to the door and stood there to wait.

"And as for you," Marlene said, turning to Gilderoy, "you're going straight to the doctor on call. He's informed me that he would like to speak with you."

Gilderoy nodded and walked out, past Lucius and into the hall. Natalie was waiting for him, and she led him out of the main hallway and into the office of the doctor on call.

Gilderoy had never had any reason to visit the doctor on call, with the exception of the day he had arrived at the hospital, and that entire day was a total haze. The man he saw in front of him didn't look familiar at all, but he seemed nice enough. Gilderoy sat in front of the handsome mahogany desk and promptly tuned out everything the doctor was saying. The kiss was still firmly on his mind, as well as the feeling of Lucius' hand coming in contact with his face.

Kissing Lucius had felt good, and…right, somehow. Probably because he still felt that Lucius needed protection for some reason, and he had been doing just that – protecting him. However, Lucius slapping him had bothered him deeply, because…well…

Gilderoy was slightly disturbed at the fact that he couldn't figure out why he had wanted Lucius to like it. It was an insult to his ego, sure, but for once that wasn't the point.

"I am not falling for my roommate."

"Sorry?" the doctor said, giving Gilderoy a strange look; Gilderoy realized with a start that he had spoken aloud.

"Nothing. You were saying?" he asked, in an attempt to recover himself.

"I was saying that you're going to want to go to your room and prepare."

"Prepare for…what?" Gilderoy said, smiling in a bemused sort of way.

"Your discharge, Gilderoy."


	7. Chapter 7

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The sun was beating down on Gilderoy as he walked up the steps of the hospital four days later. His talk with the doctor earlier that day had gone well, and he took the steps two at a time. He was humming slightly to himself.

He pushed the door open and made his way to the reception desk. The nurse there looked up, her eyes widening slightly. "You're back already?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yes, I…oh," Gilderoy said, slightly delayed in catching her meaning. "No. I'm here to visit someone."

"Who?"

"Lucius Malfoy."

The nurse stared at him, then turned and walked through a door behind the desk. A few minutes later she came through another door to Gilderoy's right. She gestured for him to follow her.

She led him into the main hall, the one he knew so well. The other patients had their visitors, but Lucius was nowhere to be seen.

"He'll be with you in a moment," she said, as though she were announcing a business meeting. It was appropriate, Gilderoy thought, as it was a business meeting of a sort.

Lucius came in soon after the nurse had left, escorted by Geoffrey. His hair was lank, but other than that, he looked well. Gilderoy smiled at him. Lucius ignored him entirely and went to his usual corner of the room. Gilderoy dragged a chair over to sit next to him.

"Hello, Lucius," he said brightly.

Lucius cleared his throat but said nothing.

"Still in confinement?" Gilderoy ventured.

Lucius glared at him. "Whatever –" He had to clear his throat again before continuing. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You haven't talked to anyone in a while."

"Yes, well, it's not like there's anyone for me to talk to in there."

"I talked to your doctor here."

"Oh?"

"You're on involuntary, aren't you? Can't leave until someone comes for you?"

"I believe that's confidential information, Gilderoy, unless you're the one that's going to…" Lucius froze for a moment, then said, "I suddenly don't like the way this is going." He stood up. "It was a nice try, but I'm not interested."

Gilderoy reached up and grabbed Lucius' arm, jerking him back down into a sitting position. "Oh, come on, Lucius! It's not going to be that bad. What are your choices? Stay here?"

"If getting out means leaving _with you_, I'd rather stay in confinement." He started to stand up again, only to be dragged back down. "People are starting to stare, Gilderoy."

"Then sit down." Lucius gave him a dirty look, but remained where he was. "Will you at least _listen_ now?" Gilderoy asked.

Lucius said nothing. Gilderoy took the silence as a "yes".

"All right, I already talked to your doctor, as I said. He told me you're on involuntary. I can get you out of involuntary and out of _here_ if you want me to."

"What's the catch?"

"There is no -"

"I'm insulted. Do you really think I'm that moronic? The catch, Lockhart."

"I told you, no catch. Conditions." Lucius rolled his eyes, but didn't interrupt. "You continue to go to therapy. You don't pull any more of the self-mutilation things. You live with me, and you don't run away. You stay until you're summoned by your family, or if you have no family, someone that will make sure you won't hurt yourself again."

"And there's something in it for you, I'm assuming."

"Well -"

"Say it."

"You help me regain my knowledge of the magical world."

"Who would be paying for my therapy, you or myself?"

"I would, of course."

"You don't have that kind of money," Lucius sneered.

"Actually, I -"

"They let you keep it after you were exposed?"

"Well, who would testify against me?" Gilderoy said blankly. Lucius leaned forward and started coughing a bit. Gilderoy wasn't sure if that was because he was becoming ill, he was trying to cover another reaction, or if he just had something in his throat.

When Lucius regained his breath, he said "Now I want you to hear my conditions if this arrangement is going to work at all, which I doubt."

"You mean you're going to -"

"I didn't _say_ anything yet, Lockhart. Curb your enthusiasm."

Lockhart fell silent.

"Better." Lucius shifted slightly, resettling himself in the chair. "First of all, you allow me to come and go as I please. Second, this will _not_ turn into a courtship thing - "

"A courtship thing?"

"If you start trying to kiss me again, or if you start taking me on dates and showing me off, I will not be a happy person. I'll come straight back here if it comes to that."

"Of course I wouldn't do that!" Gilderoy said. "Showing you off…especially since you're still so much in _denial_…"

"…what?"

"Well, you're obviously still in the closet…"

"Like you're not?"

Gilderoy ignored that, saying "So you can come and go as you please, and I don't attempt to date you. Anything else before we leave?"

"There are other things, but I suppose they can wait."

"So you're coming."

"You never fail to amaze me, Lockhart."

"Thank you!" Gilderoy said, grinning. Lucius rolled his eyes, and this time Gilderoy didn't wonder, but _knew_ there was something he wasn't getting.


	8. Chapter 8

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Gathering Lucius' things from the room didn't take long. What took long was trying to get his things out of Contraband.

"Exactly how much did you bring _with_ you, Lucius?" Gilderoy complained. Lucius ignored him; he was too busy arguing with Natalie about the fact that one of his belongings was still missing.

"For the love of God, woman, it's a black stick with a silver snake's head on it. Exactly how many of those do you _have_ in there?"

"I'm telling you, I don't have it!"

"And _I'm_ telling _you_ that I'm not leaving without it."

"Well, then you'll just have to wait until –"

"You're still here," said Marlene flatly as she came up behind Natalie, making the other woman jump. "Why are you still here? You were supposed to be gone half an hour ago."

"I love you too, Marlene."

She gave Lucius a hard look, then turned and noticed Gilderoy, nearly doing a double take. "You're leaving with _him_?" she said skeptically. "I can just see how _that_'ll go."

"Don't remind me. Now where in hell is my –"

Marlene turned and went into her office behind the desk they were standing at. She returned a few moments later with the stick Lucius had been describing earlier.

"This yours?" she said in a tone of voice that said she knew what the answer would be.

"Finally, someone who knows what the hell they're doing," Lucius said.

"It looks like a pimp cane," Gilderoy observed. Lucius gave him a dirty look. "Well, it _does_."

Marlene handed the stick to Gilderoy. "You take it. I don't trust him with it until he's off the premises. If you want to give it to him later, fine. But not while he's still here."

"Why?" Gilderoy looked it over until he noticed a catch beneath the snake's head that wasn't obvious until he was looking right at it. He released the catch and pulled, expecting a blade. What came out was –

"You keep your wand in here?"

"Is that what it looks like?" Lucius said, rolling his eyes.

"Yes."

"There you go, then."

"And you do this because…?"

"…I can," Lucius finished dryly. "Come on." He started down the hall, robes swishing behind him. Gilderoy and Marlene followed him. Marlene opened the door leading from the locked ward to the outside hall. Lucius brushed past her and stood in the corridor to wait. Gilderoy followed behind him, still clutching the stick.

"Goodbye," he said to Marlene. Marlene nodded slightly; making a soft noise of acknowledgement, she shut the door behind them. Gilderoy heard the lock slide back into place.

"I'm going to need my wand," Lucius said as they stepped outside.

"Why?"

"Apparation," Lucius said in a _this-is-obvious_ tone of voice.

Gilderoy blinked. "What?"

"…No.'

"Sorry?"

"Never mind. How, exactly, are we getting to…wherever it is we're going?"

"Bus."

"Charming," Lucius said dryly. "Do you plan on calling it, or should I?"

"Calling it?"

"You mean you took one of the city buses here?" Lucius asked, looking appalled.

"Of course I did, Lucius!" Gilderoy said, laughing slightly. "You don't mean we have our own _bus_ system –"

Apparently that was what Lucius did mean, as the Knight Bus suddenly was idling in front of them.

"I wish you had _told_ me you get motion sickness," Gilderoy said half an hour later as Lucius staggered off the bus, looking paler than usual. Gilderoy was already standing on the lawn in front of his home, Lucius' things piled around him.

"I didn't tell you," Lucius replied, "because I didn't _know_, until I got on that _thing_." He jerked his head back in the direction of the Knight Bus, which disappeared less than a second later.

"Well, it was an experience, anyway."

"Indeed it was. One I wouldn't care to repeat anytime soon."

"I thought you'd been on it before," Gilderoy said. "You made it sound like that, and I assumed -"

"You assume far too much for your own good."

By this time they had made their way up the front walk. Gilderoy unlocked the front door and let them both inside.

"So…this is it," Lucius said.

"This is…it?" Gilderoy said incredulously. He liked to think it was a rather large residence, and -

"This _is_ where you live, right?" Lucius asked, turning to him. Gilderoy nodded. "Then this is it. Where is my room?"

"Upstairs, second door on the left," said Gilderoy, feeling slightly foolish.

"And I suppose it would be pointless for me to ask you for my stick back?"

"You'll get it in time, Lucius, don't worry."

"Then have my things sent up, and for the love of all things sacred don't drop any of it."

Lucius turned and started up the stairs. Gilderoy called after him. "You'll be down for dinner, right?"

"Do you really want to feel as badly as I do right now, Gilderoy?"

"No -"

"Then don't mention food in my presence for at least another hour." Then he was gone around the corner. A few moments later Gilderoy heard his door slam.

Gilderoy made his way into the sitting room, suddenly feeling exhausted and not knowing why. He threw himself into one of the large chairs in front of the fireplace and fell asleep almost immediately.

He woke up nearly three hours later. The sunlight was no longer streaming through the bay windows, as it had been when he had fallen asleep. It registered that there was a fire going in the hearth, and he sat up quickly, trying to figure out who had started it. His eyes fell on Lucius, who was sitting on the sofa across the room. Gilderoy got up and joined him.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Lucius said.

"Oh, you wanted to talk?"

"I wanted to know a few things."

"I want to know a few things from you, too," Gilderoy said without thinking.

Lucius considered that for a moment. "Well, I suppose we could trade off," he said finally.

"All right. I'll start. What was I like in school?"

"Annoying."

"Come on, Lucius!"

"Oh, fine," Lucius said sulkily. "You were in the year below mine. You liked to follow my friends and I around, constantly banging on about something or other that had happened to you that you felt was important enough to share. You were a decent student, most of the teachers liked you for some reason or another, even though you cheated quite a bit on homework. As I've told you, you had a certain gift for Memory Charms. You were in Slytherin, of course. Anything else?"

"That's fine, Lucius," Gilderoy said, thinking all of that over. "It's your go."

"What do you really think of me, first of all? "

"I think you're very proud."

"And?"

"…and very insulting at times."

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes. And that makes it two questions."

"Damn."

Gilderoy thought for a moment. "Do you really hate me as much as you say you do?"

"Yes," Lucius said immediately.

"Then why did you come here with me?"

"Because no matter what I may say, Lockhart," Lucius said, "I would rather be here with you and with no locked doors than locked in a room by myself for an indefinite period of time. Now I want you to tell me why you came back for me at all."

"I told you, because I need you to -"

"Don't give me that."

"What does it matter, Lucius?" Gilderoy said, laughing nervously.

"It matters. Now tell me."

"Because I've been thinking about you constantly for the last few days, I didn't like the idea of you still in that place, and I wanted to protect you from…"

"From what?"

"Oh, Lucius, I don't know!" Gilderoy exclaimed.

"You don't think I can take care of myself, Gilderoy?"

"You certainly don't seem to be able to."

Lucius stood up. "What do you mean by _that_?"

Gilderoy stood up too. "You don't eat, you sleep all the time, you cut yourself…do I need to keep going, because I will!"

Lucius lashed out and punched Gilderoy in the face so hard that he tasted blood. His hand moved up and he discovered that his lip had split. He looked wide-eyed at Lucius, who was glaring back at him.

"I'm sorry," was all he could think of to say.

Lucius didn't respond, but instead turned military-style and left the room. Gilderoy heard the door to his room slam not long after.


	9. Chapter 9

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Gilderoy made his way up the stairwell about half an hour later, a heavily-laden tray in his hands. _Lucius is going to eat something tonight if it kills him_, he thought as he turned to the left, quickly passing by several portraits of himself. He stopped in front of Lucius' door and awkwardly tried to shift the tray onto one hand. When it was apparent that this wasn't going to work, he braced a knee against the wall and tried to balance the tray on his leg, using his left hand to support it. When he finally managed to steady the tray, he reached out and knocked.

There was no answer from inside, and Gilderoy leaned over and opened the door, barely catching the tray before its contents slid to the floor. When he was sure he had control of it, he lowered his leg and walked inside.

Despite a few candles burning, it was rather dark in the room. Gilderoy's eyes adjusted slowly until he could see the figure of Lucius stretched out on the bed, back to him. He set the tray on a chair near the door, then moved to the bed.

Unlike the first time Gilderoy had tried to wake him, Lucius looked relaxed and calm as he slept. Gilderoy reached out and shook Lucius' shoulder gently until his eyes fluttered and opened.

Lucius grabbed Gilderoy as though through reflex, wrenching his hand off of his shoulder. Then his eyes seemed to focus and he relaxed again.

"What do you want, Lockhart?" he asked shortly, sitting up as he did so.

"I brought you dinner," Gilderoy said, gesturing to the chair. As he did so, something caught his attention. "You brought your own things up."

"What was I supposed to do, leave them on the lawn?"

But by that time, Gilderoy wasn't paying attention. His eyes were sweeping around the room again, finally stopping when he came to the low bookcase in the corner. He stood up and walked over to it. It was filled largely with photo albums - _Gilderoy Lockhart, 1984_…_Gilderoy Lockhart, booksigning, 1991_…_Gilderoy Lockhart, DP clippings_ (_Daily Prophet_, he assumed)…he knelt down to get a better view of the ones on the bottom shelf. His eyes came to rest on one entitled simply _Lucius Malfoy_.

He reached out and pulled the book off of the shelf. "Lucius," he called out, "I found something odd."

"Odd?" Lucius said, coming over to look. "What kind of odd?"

"I think they're pictures of you." Gilderoy started to open the book, but was stopped by Lucius' hand slamming it closed again.

"What would you be doing with pictures of me?" Lucius said, taking the book from Gilderoy. He turned it over to look at the inscription on the spine..

"I can't exactly remember, now can I?" Gilderoy said, taking the book back before standing up and walking back to the bed. He sat down on it. Lucius remained standing across the room, leaning against the wall. Gilderoy opened the album and started to look through it, squinting in the dim light. The first picture showed Lucius leaning against a wall, looking away from the camera. He was dressed in odd clothing that Gilderoy couldn't exactly place. It struck him eventually that he was dressed for some kind of sport.

"I never knew you played…er…"

"Quidditch. I only played for a year. Injury."

Gilderoy continued to page through the album. All through the first half of it, Lucius was mostly by himself or with another person, two at most, and not quite looking at the camera. The way he looked, the way he moved implied that he hadn't been aware at the time that the picture was being taken.

The first shot that had Lucius looking directly at the camera showed him writing something. Every now and then he would look up crossly at whoever was taking the picture, and at one point he made a rather rude sign directly into the lens. Eventually, though, the pictures got less irritated and more relaxed; after awhile Lucius seemed to be enjoying posing for the camera, sitting on a desk and flicking his hair back, standing in the common room posing like a model for a clothing advertisement.

"Well, you certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself," Gilderoy said as he flicked through the pages. Lucius didn't reply.

There came a series of pictures with Gilderoy in them, standing with Lucius and who Gilderoy assumed were Lucius' friends, talking and laughing.

"You told me I followed you and your friends around, not that I was actually part of your -" Gilderoy broke off as he turned the page. He was finding what he was seeing hard to believe.

"Part of my what?" Lucius asked sharply.

"Nothing…" Gilderoy said, his eyes growing wide. Lucius crossed the room and sat on the bed next to him, practically wrenching the book from Gilderoy's hands.

On the page in front of them, Lucius and Gilderoy were sitting on one of the benches outside. Lucius had his arm flung casually around Gilderoy's shoulders. His other hand was clutching Gilderoy's. Gilderoy kept leaning his head against Lucius' chest, and Lucius made no move to push him away.

"Lucius…" Gilderoy said slowly. "We're being extremely friendly in that shot."

"I see that."

"_Extremely_ friendly."

"I heard you the first time."

"_Extremely_ -"

"Say it again, and I'll take your head off."

There was a brief silence. Then -

"Were we always that -"

"_Will you give it a rest already?_" Lucius took the book from Gilderoy's hands and closed it. "There's no point in bringing this up with me again, so don't even imagine trying it in the future." He laid the book down on the bed, then got up and brought the tray from the chair back to the bed. He sat down with it and stared.

"Do you really think I can eat this much, Lockhart?"

"I wasn't sure how much to give you," Gilderoy replied.

"I'm sure. I'll bring this down when I'm finished with it." Lucius stared at the tray for a moment, then at Gilderoy. "Well…?" he said when Gilderoy didn't move.

"I'm going to wait here until you finish it," Gilderoy said. "To make sure you don't cheat. You understand."

"Indeed." Lucius started eating slowly. After a while, he paused and said "You made this yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did, actually. You don't like it?"

"Did I _say_ that?"

"No…"

"I've already told you, you assume too much."

So it continued for the next hour - Lucius ate, not looking at all self-conscious, and they both attempted to make small talk until he had finished. Gilderoy picked up the tray and started out with it.

"I believe I'm going to go to bed now," Lucius called after him.

Gilderoy turned. "Sounds good. Me too."

"Good night, Gilderoy."

"Sleep well." Gilderoy brought the tray downstairs, then made his way back up to his own room, where he fell asleep wondering what else there was that Lucius wasn't telling him.


	10. Chapter 10

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The next thing Gilderoy was aware of was that he was back in the ward. Lucius was sitting across the room, and for a moment Gilderoy thought he was wearing a red scarf of some sort, but then he realized that his throat was slit. Lucius' eyes were still open, however; he was still blinking, his eyes still tracking, he was still breathing…Gilderoy jumped up to help him, vaguely realizing that his hands were smeared with blood - Lucius' blood - but Lucius finished the job before he could get there, slicing his wrist open with a rather large razor he had stolen from Contraband. He was smiling in a serenely deranged sort of way, even when he stopped breathing.

Then Gilderoy felt himself being slapped across the face, and he woke up.

Lucius was kneeling on the bed, leaning over Gilderoy, his usually cold eyes wide and almost frightened. Gilderoy wanted to touch him, both to let Lucius know he was all right and to let himself know that _Lucius_ was all right, but before he could Lucius pushed his hand away.

"You're here," Gilderoy said, feeling slightly dazed.

"Of course I'm here, you prat," Lucius said, not looking so much frightened anymore as agitated. "It's some ungodly hour of the night and you woke me up by screaming my name over and over. I was in there thinking you were being murdered, when you were actually having some _dream_…" Lucius started to get up, but Gilderoy grabbed his wrist and jerked him back down into a kneeling position on the bed.

"I'm _not_ going to stay here with you, Lockhart," Lucius said, trying to pull his wrist out of Gilderoy's grasp.

"No, it's not that," Gilderoy said as he reached up with his other hand. He brushed Lucius' hair aside so he could get a better look at Lucius' neck. It seemed fine…

"What were you dreaming about, anyway?" Lucius asked, still trying to get his hand away from Gilderoy. He tossed his head suddenly, and his hair fell away from Gilderoy's hand and back over his shoulders.

"I dreamed that I hurt you. Badly. At least, I think I did."

Lucius looked at him strangely. "Right."

"I did, Lucius!"

"I never said you didn't, did I?"

"No, but -"

"Just shut up and go back to sleep."

Gilderoy let go of Lucius' arm reluctantly. Lucius pulled back and stood up, moving to a chair across the room. He sat in it and stayed there, staring at Gilderoy.

"What is it, Lucius?" Gilderoy asked finally.

"Are you going to go back to sleep or not?"

"Well, yes, but I thought –"

"Close your goddamned eyes."

Gilderoy closed his eyes and fell back asleep a few minutes later.

When he woke up again it was morning. As soon as his eyes focused he realized that Lucius was gone. A few moments later he noticed the sound of water running in the guest bathroom. _Lucius must be in the shower,_ Gilderoy thought as he stood up, unbuttoning his nightshirt. He tossed it off and went into his own bathroom, turning on the water for his shower.

He had been in the shower for all of thirty seconds when he heard a loud yelp through the wall. He was still trying to think of what to do about it, considering he had a hairful of shampoo on his head, when there was a loud pounding on the bathroom door.

"_Gilderoy!_"

"What?" he yelled back.

"The showers share the same" – there were a few words that Gilderoy couldn't hear – "water system!"

"Oh…I _know_ that!"

There was silence, until…

"Then why in hell are you in the shower when you know that's where I was!"

Gilderoy rinsed his hair quickly, then turned off the water. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his still-dripping body. He opened the door and was confronted by Lucius, who was very wet, very naked, and very angry.

"It. Was. _Cold_," was all he seemed to be able to get out.

"Sorry about that," Gilderoy said quickly.

"I'm sure you are. And while I'm here, might I add that you have the most frightening home I've ever seen?"

"Frightening?"

"Look at it sometime."

"Self-portraits?"

"Yes."

"Oh, well, I had a lot of self-pride, Lucius! And you have to admit, you can't really blame me, can you?" Gilderoy said, smiling at him.

"I can't _believe_ you just said that," Lucius said, pushing past Gilderoy and entering his bathroom. Lucius found one of Gilderoy's brushes and started to run it through his hair.

"And why is it so hard to believe?" Gilderoy said, opening a drawer and pulling out another brush for him to use himself.

"Because I find it hard to believe that someone can be quite so egotistical."

"It's not _ego_, Lucius, it's _honesty_!" Gilderoy replied, pushing Lucius out of the way so that he could get a better look in the mirror as to what he was doing.

"I'm not even going to justify that one with a response," Lucius said, shoving Gilderoy back. "I need to see what I'm doing, Gilderoy."

"But it's _my_ mirror. You can use the other one," Gilderoy said, pressing against Lucius and pushing him out of the way again.

"I'm living here too, aren't I?"

"Yes…"

"Then I deserve some say in the matter!" Lucius knocked Gilderoy clear over to punctuate that last sentence. Gilderoy's towel slid out of its knot and fell, draping over his legs. Lucius gave him a long stare; Gilderoy wasn't sure if it was one of approval or one of scorn.

Ignoring his urge to cover himself as quickly as possible, Gilderoy stood up, letting the towel fall.

"You have no modesty at all, do you?" Lucius said dryly.

"You're one to talk, Lucius. Anyway, it's not like I've got something you don't."

"Well, yes, but you don't have to show off."

"Once again, you're one to talk."

"I'm not showing off," Lucius said, tossing his hair. "It's _confidence_."

"How is it _confidence_ when you walk around undressed, yet showing off when I do it?"

"If you really have to ask -"

"…maybe I shouldn't know?"

"Good," Lucius said. He put down Gilderoy's brush and walked around Gilderoy and out of the bathroom. "Now do you trust me enough to let me leave the house for a few hours tonight, or will you have to _chaperone_?"

"I think I had better come with you -"

"I knew you would say that. I have to meet with some people tonight - previous engagement -"

"Previous to _what_?"

Lucius ignored him. "…And I'll have to take you to get new robes."

"What's wrong with my robes?" Gilderoy asked defensively.

"They're _loud_, for one thing -"

"I _like_ them!"

"…I absolutely refuse to let you wear pink to this meeting, for another…"

"They're not _all_ pink!"

"I don't care. You're getting new robes."

And no matter how much Gilderoy protested, Lucius refused to change his mind.

After Lucius convinced Gilderoy that Floo powder really _was_ safe ("Much more so than riding that goddamned bus…") they stood outside of the robe shop in Diagon Alley. Gilderoy noticed that he kept getting odd stares and smiles from several of the people in the street. He smiled back and waved a bit. This seemed to make several women and even a few of the men very happy. Lucius rolled his eyes when he saw this and steered Gilderoy into the shop itself, where they were promptly assaulted by saleswomen and what looked like roughly twelve meters of flying measuring tape.

Gilderoy was too busy trying to keep close to Lucius and keep his own head on straight to really take in everything that was happening. Before he was fully sure they had begun, he had a set of black robes thrown over his arm.

"Well? Go try them on," Lucius prodded, pointing Gilderoy in the general direction of the fitting rooms. Gilderoy walked into one of them, feeling slightly dazed, and pulled the robes on.

They were extremely hot, extremely stiff, and extremely uncomfortable, with a high collar and several decorative garnishes down the front. Gilderoy opened the door again, feeling positively mortified.

"Not bad," Lucius said slowly, reaching out and adjusting them briskly. "What do you think?"

"Let's just say I have a whole new pity for vicars, Lucius." Gilderoy froze after it was out, slightly afraid that Lucius would take the remark personally.

To his amazement, Lucius laughed.

"That's the first shot you've taken at me since we met," he said, a note of what sounded like approval in his voice. "Good. Now change and meet me outside."

Gilderoy went back into the dressing room and shut the door, changing quickly. He met Lucius as he was paying for the robes; he arched his neck and got a good look at the price before hissing "Lucius! I won't let you spend that much money on my clothes!" into his ear. Lucius very discreetly pretended not to hear him as he finished laying gold on the counter. He turned sharply and led Gilderoy outside.

"At least let me pay you back when we get back to my place," Gilderoy said.

"No," said Lucius. "You're paying for my room, board and the therapy sessions I'll probably be starting -"

"There isn't a 'probably' about it!" Gilderoy interjected. Lucius wasn't listening.

"- so I think I ought to at least pay for _some_ expenses."

"I don't think you should have to spend your money for something I -"

"I'm not exactly poor, Gilderoy," Lucius said through his teeth. "I can afford to help pay for expenses."

"I wasn't trying to _offend_ you," Gilderoy said.

"It doesn't offend me."

"Well, you're acting like -"

"No. I'm not. Your refusing to give me my wand back offends me. Your treating me like a child offends me. Your acting like you're the Almighty Gilderoy Lockhart Who Deserves To Be Worshipped And Adored By All…well, it doesn't offend me so much as it annoys me. No, this doesn't even _begin_ to offend me." With that, Lucius stalked into Flourish and Blotts'. Gilderoy tried to follow him, but was stopped by a rather large group of witches who had been watching him from across the alley. By the time he had fended them all off, Lucius was nowhere to be seen.


	11. Chapter 11

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Gilderoy finally found Lucius sitting on a chair in the back of the shop, reading. "Are you ready to leave?" Lucius asked, not looking up.

"Lucius…" There was a silence that was very uncomfortable for Gilderoy but didn't seem to bother Lucius in the least.

"Are you or are you not?" Lucius said, setting the book aside and finally looking at Gilderoy.

"Yes," Gilderoy said.

"Good."

A few minutes later, Gilderoy found himself back in the sitting room of his home. "I'm sorry," he said when Lucius came into the room.

"Sorry for what?"

"For -"

"Sorry for _what_?" Lucius said again. Gilderoy finally got his point: it didn't really matter anymore. He smiled at Lucius, who gave him an odd look.

"That looks incredibly strange with your lip the way it is," Lucius said. Gilderoy's hand quickly moved up to cover it. "Do you want me to fix it?" Lucius continued.

"Can you do that?"

"Of course. I'll need my wand, though -"

"I don't know, Lucius…"

"Well, if you want to go out tonight still looking like that, you go on ahead. Just don't say I never offered."

Gilderoy considered. "Oh…fine. Come upstairs; your wand's in my room."

Upstairs, Lucius released the catch on his stick and drew his wand out. "Now hold still," he said. Gilderoy flinched, closing his eyes, as Lucius touched him lightly with the wand. He wasn't sure how Lucius did it, but he felt his injury heal immediately.

"Thank you," he said, going to look in the mirror. Sure enough, it had healed.

Lucius didn't reply, but instead turned and started back into the hall, looking around as he went. "Tell me, Gilderoy, _why_ do you need such a large house?" he said as he went.

Gilderoy shrugged, then realized that was utterly pointless, as Lucius was in the hall and had his back to him besides. "I don't know," he said, coming to walk beside Lucius. "I'm sure it was a good idea at the time that I bought it."

"Of course it was."

"Hm?"

"If it had seemed like a _bad_ idea, you wouldn't have purchased it, now would you?"

Gilderoy laughed. "You have a point."

They came to a stop outside a door opposite the stairwell. "Dare I ask what's in here?" Lucius asked.

"I don't know. The only rooms I've been in are the ones you've already seen."

"I see." Lucius made no move to open the door.

"Aren't you going to go in?"

"And why would I do _that_?"

"Oh, come now, Lucius, it's probably just storage!" Gilderoy flung the door open with a flourish. The room was empty. "You see? Absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

"_Afraid_?" Lucius said. "I'm not the one who spent four days alone in this house, yet didn't look in any of the rooms until I had someone else with me."

"That's not the point!"

"Would you care to enlighten me as to what _is_ the point, then?"

Gilderoy was trying to come up with a witty response when he realized that Lucius was smiling. True smiles from Lucius were rare, and Gilderoy smiled back at him.

"You're so incredibly odd," Gilderoy said.

"Mmm…why do you say that?"

"You just _are_."

"And how should I take that?"

"It's not an insult."

"Oh, _right_," Lucius said, rolling his eyes in mock-exasperation. "It's not an insult, but it's not a compliment either."

"Well…"

"My, you _are_ getting bold."

"You're rubbing off on me, I suppose." Gilderoy paused for a moment, thinking. Then he said, "It's at times like this that it feels like you might actually like me, or at the very least not dislike me as much as you say you do."

"Why are you so obsessed with me liking you?" Lucius said.

"I've told you already, _I_ like _you_ a great deal."

"So you have, although I have no idea _why_ -"

"And it's very rude to insist on disliking someone who likes you."

"The world isn't all sunlight and roses. You're going to come across people who dislike you. Get used to it."

Gilderoy stared at Lucius. Something was bothering him, and he didn't know what it was. There was something Lucius wasn't telling him…

"I hurt you, didn't I?" he said finally.

Lucius blinked. "What are youon about now?" he said. "If this is about that dream you were having –"

"No, while we were at Hogwarts…" Gilderoy closed his eyes for a moment. "There was the lake, and you were sitting on the bank…you said that if I ever touched you again, you would hex me into the hereafter." He opened his eyes and realized that Lucius had gone very still.

"Who told you about that?" Lucius asked, his voice frighteningly quiet.

"No one," Gilderoy replied. "I just sort of knew."

"And is there anything else that you just sort of _know_?"

Gilderoy thought for a moment. "No, that's about it," he said.

Lucius didn't look pleased; he quite bluntly changed the subject. "Do you have anything to eat here?"

Gilderoy looked at him in surprise. "You're actually hungry?"

"Famished."

Gilderoy smiled. "That's good. Maybe you're finally –"

"Are you going to stand there and tell me how good it is, or are you going to actually get me something to eat?"

"You can eat at any time, you know," Gilderoy said as they went downstairs.

"I can't cook."

"You can't? Why not?"

"I've never had to." They turned and walked into the rather large kitchen.

"Oh, but it's easy! All you have to be able to do is –"

"I don't know how, and I don't care to learn, as I'm probably never going to have to use it. So skip the lesson and make me something." Lucius sat down at the table and looked at Gilderoy expectantly.

"You have to learn sometime, Lucius, and it might as well be now."

"And why, exactly, do I 'have' to learn?"

"Do you expect me to cook for you the entire time that you're here?"

"Yes."

Gilderoy found himself staring at Lucius again. It wasn't a command, nor was it said in sarcasm – it was just something Lucius truly expected of him. As Gilderoy stared at him, he noticed something odd - Lucius' sleeve was pooled around his elbow, exposing his arm. And…

"Lucius, why don't you have any scars?"

"Scars?" Lucius repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes…from when you cut yourself in the ward. You don't have any scars or cuts. Why?"

"Why would I have scars?" Lucius said, apparently not following what Gilderoy was trying to say. He paused for a moment before something seemed to strike him. "Oh. Because of the amount of magic in my blood. You have it too; look, come here." Lucius stood up and pulled a knife out of the block on the counter.

"Lucius, what are you doing?" Gilderoy said, alarmed, as Lucius pressed the blade against the skin of his left palm. Lucius closed his eyes as the blood welled out of his hand, then removed the blade and laid it on the counter. He then ran his right hand over the cut repeatedly until it stopped bleeding, and then was gone altogether.

"There," Lucius said. "That explain it?"

Gilderoy stood in silence for a moment, then turned away, determined not to ask Lucius anything else for quite awhile.


End file.
